L. Lamar Wilson raises a powerful memory of sameness and difference— a father-son moment that is both tender and sorrowful.
—
The First Shower
Ivory soap lathered, your hand,
Dirt-caked & hay-slick, guiding
Mine, trembling & sodden, like
That heifer that slid from
Her mother’s center into
Your arms hours ago. O
My sweet Daddy, such
Tenderness without desire
I’ve not known since, this
Lesson about what
Makes us different
How to keep it clean
How to hold it
Like a man how
Did you know I’d never know
How to wield this gift
Like a blade
When to hold it close
When to turn it loose?
***
Appears in Prime: Poetry & Conversation (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2014).
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Photo by DieselDemon /Flickr
Author photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths